Even Pacing!

Week of Jan 25 ~ 31

84.2km / 52.3 mi.

Good week. The even pacing day was Friday.

Monday
3:30 - 12k easy.
7C/45F
59.6kg

Tuesday
Gym workout

Wednesday
7:30pm - 9.2k with 5k time trial.
21:03 - 4:12/km. Ran with another guy for 2k, but he got a cramp, so ran the next 3k alone. Felt good, but it's hard to get motivated on a cold night. (Ok, only 10°, but I don't like the cold!)
10C/50F, 30%, -6dp
59kg

Thursday
3:00 - 12k easy.

Friday
11:30 - 20k in a light rain. Cold, but I wore a lot, so was warm enough.
2:00:45 — Out: 1:00:22.87   In: 1:00:22.78.
Even pacing! And that's without checking my watch at all.
6C/43F, 100%, 6dp
59.6kg

Saturday
3:00 - 12k easy.

Sunday
2:45 - 20k in 1:47:58. 5k splits 29:06/28:45/26:55/24:12
Pace/k: 5:49/45/11/4:50  last k in 4:38.
Not a bad run, esp. considering I did 20k on Friday (still not really used to doing "long" runs).
10C/50F, 35%, -2dp

Great run today by my favorite runner, Kayoko Fukushi, at Osaka - 2:22:17, clearing the Japan Federation mandated 2:22:30 for automatic selection for the Rio team.
And also by my favorite male runner, Scott Brown, 1:22 in the Half Marathon version of the same race.

Three weeks over 80k, so will take an easy week next week, resting Monday and Tuesday.

80K with Snow

Week of Jan 18 ~ 24

80.4K / 50 Mi.

A week almost exactly the same as last week, except that we had snow on Monday. As if I wasn't bummed out enough to be back in cold weather, I now have an icy running path to contend with. Wherever the sun doesn't hit, the snow remains, in fact there is still quite a bit along my street, and that means quite a lot of icy patches on my running path. Mostly gone by Thursday, fortunately.

So took a rest day Monday and cut the Tuesday run from 12k to 10k, because having to slow down every 100m for an icy stretch is no fun.

Wednesday the park was clear, so we managed a good workout: 2000 x 2, 1000, 500 x 2.
Which I did in 8:01, 8:08, 3:54, and about 1:54 x 2. 4 min, then 3 min walk in between.
6C/43F, 43%,-5dp
59.5kg

Thursday
12k easy

Friday
1:00 - gym workout
3:00 14k easy but a bit faster coming back, with 100m x 4 fast in the last k.
11C/52F, 27%, -8
59.8kg

Saturday
12k easy

Sunday
2:30 - 20k in 1:51:31. 5k sections @ 5:53/49/23/14
Not a bad run, felt ok.
7C/45F, 22%, -13dp

80K Week - It's Been a While

Week of Jan 11 ~ 17

82.4K / 51.2 Mi.

First 20k run and 80k week for a looong while - more than a year. Well, I was injured and then doing speed work for 10K racing....

Monday
2:30 - 12k easy.
I have a pain in my right lower back that I suddenly got yesterday. No idea why. It's very painful when I get up after sitting, but ok when walking and running. I presume it will go away.
10C
59.6kg

Tuesday
1:00 - Gym workout

Wednesday
7:30pm - 12.4k with 2000/1000 x 2. 5.4k warmup  and 1k warmdown.
8:31, 4:03, 8:31, 4:01.
Cold, but no wind. Felt ok, went as fast as I could. At least the 1000s were not bad.
8C
60.1kg

Thursday
4:30 - 12k easy.

Friday
1:00 - Gym workout
3:00 - 14k with 7 out easy, 7 in at 5:07/k, last 4:46.
An "easy tempo" run. Felt pretty good.
8C
60.2kg

Saturday
3:30 - 12k easy.

Sunday
3:00 - 20k in 1:55:25. 5:52 pace out, 5:40 in.
Nice, comfortable run, legs were fine, good to do a 20k run again.
9C
59.9kg
No wind all week, which was great. I hate windy winter days.
Put on about 2kg since pre-holidays, but it will come off eventually.
Still have slight back pain, but it is gradually going away.

Nice Vacation, Now Back to the Cold Grind

Had a nice two and a half week vacation visiting my daughter in Bangkok, with three days in Bali. It was hot, and I was loving it.
Did one treadmill run in Bali, and was so motivated I went 10 minutes past my usual treadmill limit of 30. You would not run on a road in Bali - they're narrow and full of scooters blasting along at high speeds. Even the roads way out in the countryside are far too dangerous.

And did eight runs in Bangkok. Mostly 10 or 12k at a moderate pace, but did two tempo runs and a 5k time trial in which I managed 22:00 in 33-degree heat.

A highlight was running with Marty Lever in Chatuchak and two other adjacent parks, all of which are beautiful. We had a very nice 11k run followed by coconut water right out of the coconut and beer - right out of the bottle! I recommend Hemingway's to anyone going to Bangkok.
And check out Marty's Habitat photos of the parks' wildlife at http://mlever.co.uk

My daughter will probably be leaving there in 6 or 8 months - I hope to go there once more, but we'll see.

So...back in cold Tokyo, although the weather has been relatively mild. (Supposed to get colder next week.)
Did 62km the past week (Monday in Bangkok), ending with an 18k run on Sunday, which is the longest I've done in a very long time. Want to get up to 80k a week for the next 2 or 3 months so I can run a decent half marathon.

Oh, and Happy New Year.